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The One With The Metaphorical Tunnel
"The One With The Metaphorical Tunnel" is the fourth episode of the third season of Friends, which aired on NBC on October 10, 1996. Plot Joey does not show up for an audition which Estelle didn't manage to get him into, and Phoebe calls as a talent agent in her stead, which manages to get Joey his audition. As the fruit of this success, Joey appoints Phoebe as his new manager and manages to land a bunch of auditions. However, he has trouble getting parts because of his acting. Phoebe is more straightforward with Joey about this than Estelle, but although he initially appreciates it, he reveals to her that her straightforward comments might not be what he needs in his career, and goes back to Estelle. He also believes that Phoebe made up the comments, which in fact were true. As things move forward with Janice, Chandler starts to freak out about commitment and goes to the guys for advice. Joey tells him to face his fear and, in doing so, Chandler meets with Janice and gives her a drawer. She thinks he's sweet, until he overdoes his bit and ends up declaring they should take a trip with her parents and that he and Janice move in together. This scares her to the point she leaves his apartment, and he ends up chasing her down the street. For him, it's time for advice from the girls, who give him low-fat ice-cream and suggest him to follow Janice and act aloof, which he does at her superstore. The only problem with this is that she spots him stalking her and figures out what he's trying to do, which leaves him in an even worse position with her. When he recounts this latest misdemeanor, the girls are about to fetch the good ice-cream which they leave for "terminal cases", when the phone rings. Instead of heeding for their advice, Chandler is just himself with Janice, and confesses how he just wants to move forward in his relationship with her because he's crazy about her. He and Janice end up telling each other "I love you", which is terminal enough for the girls to dig into the good ice-cream themselves. On his weekend visit, Ben surprises Ross when he shows up with a Barbie doll clutched in his hand. This makes Ross freak out that his son, being raised by two lesbians, might not grow up to be man enough, and tries to dissuade him from the doll with monster trucks, dinosaurs and a G. I. Joe doll (which is manly enough for Joey). Ultimately, Ross presses G. I. Joe on Ben to the point that he relinquishes the Barbie in favor of the soldier. Ross' explanation of this to Carol and Susan is just that they have to make their peace with them, but Monica jumps in to ruin his manlyhood by revealing that he used to dress up as a woman and host tea-parties and his parents and Monica call him "Bea". The episode closes with an old video-tape of little Ross dressed up as a woman hosting one such tea-party. He spills tea all over the table, squeals like a girl and flees from the camera, which now has a shot of little Monica, who at this point is more boyish than her brother. Cast and Crew Main Cast Jennifer Aniston - Rachel Green Courteney Cox - Monica Geller Lisa Kudrow - Phoebe Buffay Matt LeBlanc - Joey Tribbiani Matthew Perry - Chandler Bing David Schwimmer - Ross Geller Supporting Cast Charles Thomas Allen - Ben Geller John Christopher Allen - Ben Geller Edo Azran - Young Ross Jessica Hecht - Susan Bunch Sierra Dawn Hill - Young Monica Jane Sibbett - Carol Willick Maggie Wheeler - Janice Litman James Michael Tyler - Gunther (uncredited) Crew Directed By: Steve Zuckerman Written By: Alexa Junge Trivia *In this episode, Susan wears the same gray shirt that says "Girls" on it as Rachel in season six's The One Where Ross Dates A Student, except that on Susan's shirt, the font is purple and on Rachel's shirt, it's green. Monica also wears this in "The One The Morning After". *At the beginning of the episode, Joey is featured in the Milk-Master commercial as the guy who can't pour milk. In The One With The Tiny T-Shirt, his fellow actress Kate recognizes him from the commercial despite him featuring in quite a few episodes of Days Of Our Lives, and makes fun of him by telling others to ask Joey to open their milk cartons. *In this episode, Chandler and Joey try to speak in foreign accents: **Chandler asks Janice how she's been with a British accent. In the uncut versions of The One With Five Steaks And An Eggplant and The One With The Fake Party, Chandler uses a British accent: in the Season 2 episode, he mocks Ross about possible hook-up girl Jade; in the Season 4 episode, he speaks British in the presence of Emily, which as Monica points out to him, is freaking everybody out. Chandler mocks her by saying he thinks she finds it hard to resist. **Joey tries to use an Italian accent (despite his Italian descent) but can't, as Phoebe points out that the producers never met an Italian guy with a worse Italian accent. In The One Where Rachel Is Late and The One With The Mugging, Joey tries to speak in a southern accent, which comes out Jamaican. *At the end of this episode, little Ross sing a song with the tone just like Barney The Dinosaur "I Love You" song. *Chandler's French Vanilla ice cream tub is held in several different positions through out the scene. *Rachel's ice cream tub disappears from her hand and then appears again. * Ross's son says the words, "Monica Bang," which sounds eerily similar to "Bing" foreshadowing the eventual marriage between Chandler and Monica. Episode Navigation Category:Friends Category:Season 3 Category:Friends Episodes